Not what I had in mind
by Shieru-chan
Summary: AU. All I knew was that if I didn't get a job soon, I would be in trouble. That is until Orihime appeared on my door step with a 'perfect' suggestion. Before I knew it, I ended up in Tokyo's most popular model agency, babysitting one lazy as hell blue haired model that went by the name Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. If I disliked my life before, I sure as hell hated it now. GrimmIchi
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hello there, my lovelies. It has been a while, hasn't it? (haha yeah right) In order to celebrate the end of 2012, I present you this fic. I must say that I am a total weirdo, and I should have watched/rewatched Bleach in the first place. My die hard otp forever is IchiRuki, so why did I write this. I guess it is true what they say (Shouhei) once a homo shipper, always a homo shipper.  
So here, have some homos homoing.  
_This chapter serves as an introduction, so no actual homos here._ I plan to make this a two shot, even if I do have the material on my hands. That's how I roll.  
And don't worry you guys, just because I write for this fandom DOES NOT mean that I will abandon **Dreams of Red**, in fact, expect the new chapter soon.  
I AM FINALLY DONE WITH FICS SO I CAN START ON FANARTS. YES.  
Enjoy.~

* * *

Name: Not what I had in mind

Pairing: Grimmjow/Ichigo with many side pairings

Summary: AU. All I knew was that if I didn't get a job soon, I would be left homeless. That is until Orihime, the angel she was, appeared on my door step with a 'perfect' suggestion. Before I knew it, I ended up in Tokyo's most popular model agency, babysitting one lazy as hell blue haired model that went by the name Grimmjow Jaegerjaques. If I disliked my life before, I sure as hell hated it now. Grimmjow/Ichigo

Rating: T+ (I might kick things up a notch and give it M)

Genre: Humor/Romance

I do not own Bleach. If I did all your pairings would be canon.

_Chapter one: How it began_

There was a saying, that you could actually find happiness when you least expect it. Don't search for it, just wait and you will see _it will find you for sure_. And it will find you at the most unexpected times.

When I first came here, all I wanted was money to pay for my rent, food and other necessities. What I got in turn was nothing what I expected.

Fate works in the strangest ways, don't you think so, Ichigo?

Oh great, now I was hearing Kisuke Urahara in my head. Maybe the saying about happiness was also something he said once or twice… Wasn't that the time when he received a huge pack of sweets and booze, a bribe from some of his clients..?

Doesn't matter.

Things like fate exist in this world, you don't have to believe it, I myself don't and I still refuse to, only you can make your own 'destiny', so cheesy, but it still exists even if we don't acknowledge it. It was fate for me to end up here and meet that idiot. I hated it, I refused to believe it, but then as time passed I couldn't help, but thank Orihime, in absolute secret of course, for showing up on my doorstep that night.

I couldn't help, but thank Yuzu and Karin too, because that was when it all started, all those years, five to be exact, ago.

And maybe Renji too, if it wasn't for him leaving me alone to fend for myself, I wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place—

Okay, that was a lie, but maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. The two of us couldn't have worked in the same place for a month or a few, knowing us we would be kicked out even before the observance was over.

So I say my 'thank you's in my head and smile ever so slightly, the chain link fence rattling from my weight as I lean against it, sounds of Tokyo city ringing clear in my ears.

I wouldn't exchange this for anything else.

* * *

It all started at the beginning of September, that was approximately five months ago. It had been a month or so after I got my ass kicked out from my last work place. Not that I hadn't expected it, I knew that it would happen some day, it was clearly written all over the manager's face, she was reluctant to give me the job in the first place. That too was not surprising, my bright orange hair always worked on people in all of the negative ways, they thought I was a delinquent even though it was natural, not that they believed me, but I wasn't about to bring every person into the bathroom to show that it was natural and not dyed like they had thought.

Firstly, that would be just gross and fucked up, secondly, I could care less what people thought about it. I was no longer in highschool, I wasn't a kid that was picked on and I wasn't about to use violence against every person that dared to make a rude comment or two. It was something I had lived with since I was born, so I was used to it. I actually liked my hair color, it was distinctive, and it wouldn't be me if I didn't have bright orange hair. One of my friends, Tatsuki said that it would be just plain weird if it was for example black or brown, like most of typical Japanese hair colors out there, and Renji said that it would be really hard to see me in a crowded room if the carrot top wasn't flashing as bright as the setting sun. I told him to shut the hell up and called him a red pineapple, since it insulted my pride, who the hell did he think he was making comments like that when he had crimson hair? That had resulted in us fighting, until Rukia had separated us after making sure to kick our stomachs.

For a midget she had quite the kick, not to mention strength. All those years of gymnastics and all kind of self defense sports, her brother insisted that she would learn to fend for herself in case someone tried to kidnap her, _heh_ those would be some unfortunate people, truly did a number on her muscles.

But about that a little later.

So as I said before, ever since I was a kid, my hair was the favorite part for all these kids to pick on and it did not diminish even a little after all these years. I was minding my own business that day, since the coffee shop I worked part time at was especially crowded that day, when a group of guys I recognized, they were attending the same medical university I had and never failed to throw some nasty comments my way when I was rushing to classes, came inside.

I swear I tried my best to ignore them, I tried _everything_: counting to ten, inhaling slowly, trying to remind myself where I was, that we were grown ups now and I needed money like crazy to pay that month's rent, the land lady was already nagging me and it worked. I completely blocked out the obnoxious snickering from reaching my ears and continued to serve the customers. As I was placing some cups of coffee in front of two blushing teenage girls that were giggling like crazy, right next to the table the four guys sat at, I felt something tug at my black apron and then slide on my ass.

Someone was feeling me up. _Someone from that obnoxious group of those assholes._ Without much thought, I turned around and sucker punched the dude who did it, feeling satisfied when I heard a popping crack his jaw produced and my smile widened even more when I saw blood seeping from his split lip.

Serves the asshole right.

My happiness was short lived when the other three jumped up from their seats and tried to avenge their 'fallen comrade'. It took a few seconds and the whole coffee shop was in pure chaos as we fought. Too bad for those guys, they weren't exactly experienced in fighting, I could tell that from their jerky and reckless moves, while I was pretty experienced. It ended up with us being separated by some other waiters, the others all bruised and bleeding while I only had a red bruise on my jaw that hurt and throbbed like crazy. The guy was playing dirty, catching me off guard like that, if it weren't for him I wouldn't have had a single stinkin bruise and now I was going to spend some time with a black bruising covering half of my face. Great.

The troublemakers were kicked out in an instant, while I was brought to the manager. She was a fierce lady, that Kukaku Shiba and hated disobedient guys that got themselves into trouble without a second thought, aka guys like _me._ Even when one of the waiters there, a timid kid Hanataro explained that it wasn't my fault in the first place, she still gave me an earful and I was too scared to talk back. In a heartbeat she fired me and kicked me out of her office. I guess I was a little hurt and mad that she did it, but one of the most important conditions was to never EVER cause fights of any kind, and I disobeyed it, I gave the first blow, so it was to be expected.

I gave my black apron to Hanartaro and he just smiled apologetically, while Ganjuu, Shiba's younger brother, tried to look like he was supporting his sister's decision, but before I left he whispered that those bastards deserved it and I kicked their asses pretty badly, Hanataro nodding his head in support. It made me feel better and I left the place in high spirits.

Yet after a few days I was drowning in my sorrows, thinking that maybe I should have endured it. I needed a job as much as fish needed water. I searched for it, but after a few weeks I realized that it was a lost case, I couldn't seem to find it, not to mention I really did not have the time to look for one properly, I had a mountain of homework to do, the exams were coming up and it unnerved me, so I sat around, ear deep in papers and biology books, trying to remember the symptoms of all kinds of diseases.

The day when I had to pay rent came and of course by that time I was almost completely broke, afraid that I might be kicked out I asked Rukia to lend me some money. She did of course, fully understanding my situation and I managed to pay for my rent, even if it wasn't the full sum, the land lady accepted it and I promised Rukia to return everything after I found myself a job, even if she said it wasn't needed.

At least I got flawless grades on my exams.

That was the first time I had asked a friend to lend me some yen and ever since then I started borrowing, not in large quantities of course, but just enough to make by, as shameful as it was.

Finding a job seemed impossible, I just didn't get it. I was almost certain I would get it, but then I figured out that '_we will call you'_ didn't necessarily meant '_you get the job; we'll be expecting you next Monday'_.

They never called me back and little by little I was starting to get frustrated. I just couldn't bring myself to ask Rukia to lend me some more, since her sum was by far the largest, Ikkaku had one Yumichika to take care of, and knowing how the man had a tendency to go through designer's stores and visit beauty parlors it was out of the question, Rangiku would rather put on kendo equipment than give out money, so she was out of the question too. Shinji was more than eager to lend me some, but then Hiyori found out and it ended up with me spending a few days with a throbbing red bruise on my nose where Hiyori's slipper had hit me and the door smacked into my face when she slammed it shut, screaming at me to lift my ass up and find a job instead of asking for money. I never understood how Shinji managed to live with that demon in the same apartment… She was a devil for sure; I pitied Shinji for having to deal with that every day.

In absolute secrecy the blond lent me money, sometimes even offering to pay for our drinks when we went out clubbing, even if I did dislike it, I wasn't much of a dancer, whereas Shinji enjoyed clubs more than anything. But after some time my pride just wouldn't let me take up those offers. There weren't many people close enough that would lend me money without wanting anything in return or expecting me to return them, most of my closest friends had left Japan after graduating from highschool, or spread out all over the country so asking them was just stupid.

Some of you may think, why didn't I ask my family? Well you see, I wasn't exactly a flawless student and my grades when I graduated weren't the most ideal ones either, so I didn't manage to get a scholarship. My dad was already paying for my studies, so I swore to myself that I would rather die than ask him to pay my rent too.

The day I was supposed to pay the rent was nearing, and I was growing frustrated, cursing Renji in my head, thinking that maybe if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this mess. Renji Abarai was my best friend even if I hated to admit it ever since middle school when he transferred to Karakura because of his mother's job. Apparently he knew Rukia way before he appeared in Karakura, and since Rukia was my friend ever since we were little kids, it was inevitable for me to become friends with him, even if we did not like each other at first, the way he tried to act cool annoyed me to bits and pieces, not to mention he had a sharp tongue.

We were a perfect match Rukia had said and in some way she was right.

After graduation we lived together in this run down flat, it was fun and all, but that was until Renji found himself a lover. I was pretty sure that it was a guy, as much as he tried to refer to his lover as 'it' and tried to keep it a secret from me and everyone else for that matter, he had slipped a few times and said 'he'. I didn't say anything, but I was sure that Renji himself realized his mistakes; his dark red face only confirmed it. Anyways, he was so in love with his lover boy, he has decided one day to spread his wings and leave the nest we had lived in for the past five years, in order to live with his 'significant other'. I still remember how I cried into a towel dramatically, saying that my baby boy has grown up and become a man, leaving his poor mother behind as he ground his knuckles into my head and Rukia snickered in glee, watching the scene with mirthful eyes and now I realized I truly wanted to cry, because this had turned serious. Renji made things easier, he paid half of the rent, there was always food, since he was an insatiable little shit and it was always fun. And now I barely had anything to eat, I felt I was going to be sick from eating nothing but instant ramen noodles and drinking lemon tea all the time. I had no job; I couldn't go out with my friends anymore.

Everything sucked.

"Ichigo, stop pacing around the room like that, I can't concentrate."

Everything. _Sucked._

My eyebrow twitched and I turned to the sofa, where Rukia had lounged, legs spread and flipped through a magazine, relaxed like she had owned the place. She wasn't paying attention to my glares anymore, fully knowing that I was in a bad mood these past few weeks. Why did she even have to come here in the first place?

"Why the hell did you come over anyways? Don't you have anyone else to bother? And sit down like a normal person! "I barked at her.

Huffing in irritation she knit her eyebrows together and sipped her lemon tea I had placed before, trying to appear like a hospitable person, even if she did not deserve it one bit. Lazily she rose up and fixed the wrinkles of her dark blue skirt. "First of all, I came here to check on you, I wanted to know how you're doing, no need to be so grouchy—"

"I wasn't—"

"Second, I see that you still haven't found a job." Her eyes softened a bit. "Seriously, Ichigo, you will have to pay the rent soon and you're barely eating, so why don't you just ask my brother Byakuya to give you a job. I am sure that he wouldn't mind—"

This time it was my turn to interrupt her mid sentence. "Rukia, I sure as hell won't ask Byakuya Kuchiki to give me a job. That just won't happen… No offense." I added quietly, when I saw her eyes flash with sadness. Rukia had always wanted me to get along with her older brother, but the man despised me, and frankly scared the hell out of me. I still remember the way he was glaring when Renji and I brought Rukia home all tousled and slightly intoxicated, hoping that the lord of the Kuchiki household won't find out. Sadly he did when we ran into him at two in the friggin' morning. Who the hell even stays up that late? We were supposed to have a simple party in order to celebrate my birthday, and of course one of my friends felt inclined to bring booze. Lots of it.

Rukia was drunk after a few shots.

That night was the worst one in my life.

So no, I would rather drink acid than ask a favor from Byakuya Kuchiki. Even if it did seem like the most perfect idea. The Kuchiki household was quite famous for their companies all across the world, they were overflowing with money so it was easy for Rukia to barge into my house whenever she pleased, damn that Renji for giving her a key, and laze around all day without a care in the world since she did not need to work her ass off, other than studying literature in Tokyo university, she always did enjoy reading, very dramatically mind you, and was very literate. Though she wanted to study arts… I can't think about it without stuffing in laughs. She sucked at arts, even if she would never admit it, to her Chappy the Bunny was a masterpiece, even if it looked like something a five year old kid would draw.

"Well okay, it is your choice…" She sighed and placed the magazine aside. "I tried asking some people if they knew some places where they need to hire, but I didn't really have much luck with that, I guess we will just have to keep on searching. There has to be a way… "

I was flooding with kindness, staring at the small girl—she was a woman now, on my sofa sipping at the lukewarm tea. This is why I liked Rukia so much, she had a strong will and always helped her friends out, not afraid to sacrifice her own time in order to do that. I really appreciated what she had done for me and I was really glad that she had not abandoned me and stayed by my side all this time, through thick and thin just like I had stayed by hers. I sometimes wished I could do more for her, instead of depending on her and her connections with influential people. She was indeed one of my closest friends, more than a friend.

Now don't get me wrong, by no means was I in love with her even if there was a time I thought so, but that happens to a guy and a girl who are good friends almost all the time when they start questioning their own feelings. I was around fourteen years old back then, but then one day I looked at her and realized that thoughts of love for her were just stupid. She was like a sister to me, but not really, it was hard to explain, so I just stuck with that. Later I realized why I felt this way, why I wasn't interested in Rukia or any other girl for that matter due to an unfortunate accident that involved me and a magazine my sister Yuzu had, but about that a bit later. In conclusion Rukia was more than a friend, yet less than a lover. I would be lost without her.

"Also, being broke does not excuse you from cleaning duties, Ichigo, there's a bunch of dust on the coffee table." She deadpanned still sipping at her tea, pinky out and all like a real royalty and rubbed a finger against the table top, examining her grey finger tip with an analyzing stare.

And it was moments like these that ruined all of my warm feelings for her and I was down right annoyed with her.

As I was about to retort how she herself wasn't the most neat person, my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket and I lifted my eyebrow in confusion not recognizing the tune, well more like I recognized it all too well, but I was sure I never had it in my phone not to mention set it as my ringtone.

'_…So sexy it hurts_

_And I'm too sexy for Milan_

_Too sexy for Milan_

_New York and Japan~_'

Rukia snorted into the cup, choking, eyes teary and I blushed furiously quickly fishing out my cellphone to answer it.

Shinji Hirako.

Figures.

I flipped it open and immediately had to pull it away from my ear as screams and pumping of the bass exploded from it.

"_Ichiiiiiii~_" the blond squealed into the phone, and by the long drag in my name I could tell that he was already intoxicated. Rukia recognized his voice and leaned back into the sofa, seeming uninterested, yet I could tell that she was listening. It didn't take a genius to figure out where Shinji was. It also did not take a genius to figure out who had tampered with my phone.

"What the hell did you do to my phone? And that song? Really?" I asked and clicked my tongue. A drunken giggle reached my ears, barely visible through the bass.

"Wha' you didn't like it? I chose it especially for you. What a killjoy, Ichi, you need to relax once in a while." I could practically see him sticking his tongue out. "Oh, right, tha's why I called ya… come over here, ev'ryone is partyin', there are looooot's of cute girls here, oi _owowow_—stop it, Hiyoriii." For a minute all I could hear was Shinji whining and the devil woman obviously smacking him around like it was nothing, playing tug of war with Shinji's phone and I was ready to hang up when Shinji's whines reached me again. "Fuck, she is damn crazy, I tell ya. If I didn't know any better I would say she's jealous or somethin'."

"You tell me." I said dryly, making sure that even that drunkard could hear the sarcasm in my voice. It was pretty obvious that the devil woman had a thing for the blonde, but he was too stupid or too ignorant to notice it. Even Rukia rolled her eyes. "Look, I seriously can't go, I still don't have a place to work at, Rukia is helping me out right now."

"Oh… So you're with your girlfriend right now, sorry Ichi, I did not mean to interrupt—"

Loud wolf whistles and cheers exploded in my ear and I felt my face heat up. I recognized those voices all too well.

An ugly coughing noise reached my ears and I turned to Rukia, who was holding her hand against her mouth and coughed wildly, choking on the lemon tea, face red just like my own. Everyone always assumed that we were dating, even though we weren't and it was useless to say otherwise because no one believed it. Maybe they would one day when either one of us got a lover, but today was not the day and tomorrow didn't look any different.

"S-She is _NOT_ my girlfriend!" I babbled into the phone, cursing the stutter in my voice.

"Mhm yeah right, whatever you say." I told you, they did not believe it. "Okay Ichi, I gotta go now, have fun with your girlfriend. Hiyori-chan says that if you won't get a job soon she will smack you, _aw look she is worried.~_"

"I am not!" I could hear it pretty clear.

"Y-Yeah okay, not worried, but pissed _ow_—wouldja stop it already!? Anyways, see ya tomorrow, Ichi. Good luck! We missed yer presence in our little meetings, take Rukia-chan with you the next time, 'kay? Bye byeeee.~"

I clicked the end call and stared at my phone. That guy could be such a kid sometimes; it was hard to believe that he was two years older than me.

There was an awkward silence in the room and I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, seeing some spider webs. Damn, I really needed to clean this place up…

Finally Rukia spoke up. "Do all of your friends just automatically assume that we are dating?" she asked, playing with the empty cup in her hands, staring at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the face of the earth.

I raised an eyebrow at her words. "Don't yours? Weren't they always saying that ever since elementary school?"

She should be used to it by now.

A small smile graced her pink lips. "…You need a boyfriend, Ichigo."

At that I blushed furiously and yanked the cup from her hands, ruffling her short hair with my free hand none too gently.

"Choose your words wisely, midget. I just might squish you into the ground like a mushroom. And don't tell me to get one, when you never even had one to begin wi—"

The heel of her foot smashed into my abdomen sending me falling on my ass. She stood up and towered over me with her small height.

"Sh-Shut up! It is not like you had one either, stupid!" her face was aflame.

"At least I had dated someone!"

"Those were girls!"

"So what?"

Rukia looked like she was about to say something but decided against it, mouth wide open. Instead she just curled on the sofa and crossed her arms, sulking, murmuring something to herself that suspiciously sounded like 'weird homo'. My eyebrow twitched. Leave Renji to tell everything he knew about me to Rukia, it wasn't like I really minded, but that was a private matter. I didn't exactly deny it when she asked me if it was true all those years ago. Deciding that she was just sour because she herself never had dated anyone, I decided to forgive her. Sighing I left the room, after she mumbled 'tea'.

Just when I was about to bring the cup to Rukia she immediately jumped up with a huge smile on her face. I raised my eyebrow at her not sure what was going on.

"I got it, Ichigo, I know how to get you a job!" Rukia said excitedly and rushed to the door, quickly slipping her shoes on. "It has to work, how didn't I think of this before!"

"Rukia, what are you—"I eyed her, a sliver of hope lighting in my chest. She was so confident; did she really manage to think of something?

"Wait for my call okay, I will call you tomorrow morning, so don't turn off your phone or something stupid like that. If this succeeds… It has to, it will. Goodbye, Ichigo, I'll be going now!"

"Um yeah… Bye." Before I could finish the door was slammed in front of me. I took a sip of Rukia's forgotten tea, grimacing at the taste of lemon and sugar; she liked it sweet and sat down ready to spend my evening studying.

I tried not to get my hopes up, but the confident look Rukia gave me, gave me hope too.

What I did not know that this suggestion would make my life turn upside down in a few days.

And I meant that in a bad way. If I disliked my life before, I sure as hell hated it after I went with Rukia's plan.

* * *

True to her words, my midget friend called me at five in the fucking morning, lively as ever, and barked at me to get my ass home right after I was done with school, meaning no dilly dallying with Shinji or anyone else for that matter. I promised her to be home and asked her to never call me at 5 am ever again, to which she responded for me to stop whining and stop staying up so late. I couldn't help it okay? Studying was hard, and if it was possible I tried to keep up with my studies, instead of pushing everything to the last day. I managed to reject all of the offers sent my way to hang out after school. As the hour Rukia told me to wait for approached, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. From what I gathered, Rukia won't be the one to come over, but it will be someone else. An acquaintance of hers? A friend? Or maybe a complete stranger? Maybe I should get dressed in something more appropriate? I looked at my appearance, deeming it to be not formal at all, so I stumbled as fast as I could to my huge closet, I had a major weakness for clothes, so my closet was fully packed and digged around, trying to find something more formal. A black dress shirt caught my eyes, the one I hadn't had the chance to wear ever since graduation and I doubted it would fit me, since five years had already passed, but somehow it fit me perfectly. Just when I was about to button the last few buttons, the doorbell rang and I jumped up, slightly nervous, trying to fix my shirt with one hand while I kicked the clothes back into my closet.

Great just _great_. Damn it, why did this always happen to me?

A slight knock reached my ears and I gave up on my shirt, kicking the rest of my clothes into the closet.

"Coming!" I shouted, and stumbled over to the door not too gracefully, opening it without looking who it was.

I was face to face with Orihime Inoue. She stared at me, her eyes travelling to my half open shirt and a blush dyed her face. I started working on my shirt again, and kicked the door wide open to make some space for Orihime to pass.

"Hey, Orihime… Are you the one Rukia sent? It is not usual for you to stop by." I asked her as she walked into the apartment and closed the door behind her. It would make sense if Rukia had her in mind, considering the fact how many of her acquaintances rejected her it was only natural for her to start asking her friends.

"Y-yes that would be me. " She stuttered slightly, removing her boots. "Rukia called me and said that you still hadn't found a job. Ichigo, you should have asked me to help you out, I would have loved to, and you are my friend after all."

"Yeah well… You're helping me right now, aren't you? Thanks Orihime. I appreciate it." I smiled slightly at her as she smiled back, the tension leaving her shoulders and she fixed the blue flower pins in her hair, playing with her orange hair. Orihime was someone I knew ever since I was a kid, we were on good terms, but some things had happened in between us, and our relationship got strained. The last time I talked to her like this was probably half a year ago. She has been in love with me for a long time and when she confessed, I had to turn her down, because I was not interested in her or girls in general. Though I did not give her my reasons, I think that she had figured it out. We did not speak for a month or two, mainly because she was hurt and I did not want to throw myself at her. Everything changed some time ago, she had found herself a boyfriend from abroad, someone who loved her dearly and she clearly loved him back just as much, you could see from the look in her eyes that she was happy.

I start to sound like a complete sap, don't I?

"There is no need to thank me, Ichigo. Not yet at least, let's talk about what Rukia and I have in mind first, okay? Then you can decide if you want to take up or offer or not."

"Alright." I said already knowing that my answer was going to be '_yes, yes and yes_'. "Take a seat and tell me what you have in mind."

She fixed her skirt and cleared her throat and told me her ideas. It appeared that her lover Ulquiorra Schiffer worked at one of the most popular modeling agencies in Japan, called 'Las Noches' led by this person named Sousuke Aizen. I had politely interrupted Orihime to say that no way was I going to be a model or something stupid like that, and she just giggled saying that it would be indeed nice for me to do it, but it was tough work and just because she had recommended me to her boss, apparently she worked there as one of the stylists, nothing would come of it. The agency was known in the whole world, many many people from different countries were sent there, and the competition there was crazy.

"You would be torn up like a baby lamb thrown into a cage of hungry lions!" Orihime said for the dramatic effect and I kind of believed her. You needed to have perfect looks to make a living in that way, and the more money you got, the more other models became jealous of you and your luck.

"So what do you want me to do there exactly?" I asked her, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Oh right, I didn't tell you hehe, silly me. "She bonked her head lightly and giggled. "Aizen is searching for some people to keep some of the models 'in line', because the situation has been really tense lately, I couldn't even work properly it was so gloomy! There are some other free places too, but you need to hurry up if you want to get one, as I said before, models or not, the competition is crazy! I just thought that the first suggestion fit Ichigo the best, because you know how to handle situations like these…"

I blinked my eyes. Wait, what did it mean exactly? Keeping some models in line? Did I need to calm them down before it turned into fights? Did that mean I would have to fight too if things got out of hand?

"So, is this 'keeping models in line' thing is like bodyguarding? I don't really understand."

Tapping her finger against her pursed lips she replied. "I don't exactly know myself, Ulqui only said that much too me, so I cannot say for sure. From what I got, I'd say it is something similar to what bodyguards do, but it is not that at the same time, it is something else. It is not that dangerous, I guess... So my suggestion to you is that you come to the agency with me tomorrow to check it out and talk with Aizen. I am sure you will get the job, he already knows you're going to come."

Ah, so I couldn't refuse. Not like I was going to.

"I don't know Orihime… And what about the pay? Is it good there?"

Her gray eyes brightened. "Oh, yes, it is! That's why Rukia called me last night; she said that you needed the money to pay the rent. I actually enjoy working there, it is fun, even if some of the personnel creeps me out sometimes, but if you ignore them, it is perfect. You should definitely take up this offer."

Good pay huh? I was immediately taken in, any doubts I had were gone in an instant. I just needed the money, nothing else, I could deal with the cocky models and weird personnel, it is not like I hadn't worked with weird people before. There was also the fact that models were really attractive, so it wasn't so bad to rest my eyes on them once in a while—

Okay that was just weird.

"I'll go with you then. When do we meet up?"

I could see that she was hyped about me accepting her offer, glad that I hadn't rejected it. She grabbed her cellphone, texted a few messages, told me to meet her tomorrow in front of the agency at 11 am sharp, gave me one last hug and left. I was thankful to her for throwing me something to cling on as I was drowning, the angel she was. Finally, I was going to have a job and I won't need to worry about anything else.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

It was.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Oh well, guys, you win. This will have more than two chapters. Not many chapters, but certainly long ones. Enjoy, I'll try to update this soon, okay? And I will warn you when the rating hits M.

* * *

_Chapter two: First impressions_

Today was the day I was finally going to start.

'…I should have stayed in bed', I had thought as I ran as fast as I could towards direction Orihime had given me, praying to high heavens I made it in time. Aizen absolutely loved punctuality, so it was better if I managed to show up in time, or even better ten or so minutes early, said Orihime before squeezing the small piece of paper with the agency's address scribbled on it with her girly hand writing, a small 11.00 am underlined a few times at the corner of it.

I was screwed, so damn screwed, I had thought frantically and just then my cellphone buzzed inside my pocket.

Let's rewind a little, shall we?

This morning I woke up one fucking hour too late and guess whose fault was that? In a way it was all mine, but I liked to blame the insatiable drunkards I call my friends. After Orihime left, I only had an hour of peace when there was thundering banging at my door. Thinking that it was perhaps Orihime, maybe she had left something behind, without a second thought I had abandoned my studies and went to answer it.

Oh how fucking wrong was I.

It was enough to make a small gap to see Ikkaku's bald head shining in the evening light and Rangiku's breasts falling out of her shirt, and what looked like bottles of booze so I slammed the door shut into their faces, or so I thought I had done. In a second Ikkaku's boot was stuck in the gap between the door and the frame and the thin wooden door was pushed back with enough force to break, fully opening it Ikkaku howled that I wasn't going to get rid of them so easy, and Rangiku's arm was around my neck pulling me into my living room. I watched with wide eyes as more people poured in. Followed by the strawberry blonde, Yumichika snuck. My eyes widened when I saw two people I did not expect to see for a long time appear. The black long hair of my childhood friend Tatsuki, followed by an older woman with chocolate colored skin, Yoruichi. She smiled at me gleefully and waved, while Tatsuki eyed me suspiciously, yet I was too shocked to see them to pay any attention. The last person to come in was Ishida, much to my surprise. That dude hated drinking more than anything and was afraid of our crew when they were drunk more than the devil was afraid of crosses. To put it into simplest of words he was a little prick and sometimes I wasn't sure why we were friends. That is if we were friends in the first place.

I tried to kick them out, I swear I did, but Rangiku gave me her kicked puppy eyes saying that it wouldn't be like the usual meetings, they had work tomorrow too, so they couldn't get stoned until they couldn't stand straight, and Yoruichi delivered the finishing blow saying that she was hurt her dear Ichi did not want to see her and his friend for the first time in three years.

Yoruichi was a karate instructor, a bloody good one at that, and had won multiple of championships all across the world, while Tatsuki was her student and tried her best to make herself famous in America. Of course it was shocking to see them back in Japan; they didn't even bother telling me before hand. Tatsuki stayed silent through our entire chat, still glaring as if I was a piece of trash blocking her way and her killer aura was simply unnerving. I had asked her what her god damned problem was and then she had lost it, reminding me what I now call 'The Orihime incident' , launching herself at me, saying that an ass kicking was in order for breaking her best friend's heart. I had tried to reason with her, saying that she was happy now with her new lover Ulqui-something and Tatsuki said that she knew that, but what I had done was unforgivable.

It ended in a fight, Yoruichi cheering me on while the others were obviously cheering for Tatsuki. It was degrading to get my ass handed to me by a girl, but I had promised myself that I wouldn't hit her outside karate matches, that was if I even managed to do so. Tatsuki was freakishly strong; those championship belts weren't for the show. It ended up with us magically breaking one of the chairs in my house while those drunkards laughed their asses off at my visible pain and Ishida just 'hmph'ed saying that I deserved it, plus it was rather entertaining to see me getting beaten up.

I most certainly did not deserve any of that, but no one in the room present knew that I was well…gay. And I didn't think I was ready to give them _the speech_. So I only sucked it up and rubbed the bruises hidden beneath my black jeans.

After it was over, the atmosphere between Tatsuki and I had turned normal, and we spent the rest of the evening drinking and chatting. I had announced that I had finally found myself a job at 'Las Noches' modeling agency, well I didn't exactly get it yet, but I was sure that I would judging from Orihime's confidence earlier. My choice of job got Yumichika and Rangiku immediately interested as they started asking me all kinds of details, pestering me about every little thing and swooning at the beauties working there. Yumichika had said that the whole model business was really popular at the moment, and working at 'Las Noches' filled with many beautiful people was a dream job. He said that while nudging my ribs _oh so suspiciously_ and I was sure the feather loving man will start pestering me about bringing him there very soon.

Ikkaku, Ishida and Tatsuki weren't as impressed, laughing their asses off at the mere thought of me mingling with these stuck ups and cocky brats who thought that the world loved them. Said that I was in for a whole lot of trouble and that I would explode the second I interacted with one.

They certainly had a point, knowing me it was going to be difficult, but anything for money, right? I could do this.

Or not.

They left at 1 am, already slightly tipsy, but it wasn't as bad compared to our usual escapades which almost always ended up with police involved in the big picture. I dragged myself into the bathroom, took a quick shower and fell face forward into my bed, without setting my alarm on.

Booze plus a lack of sleep was a dangerous and a fatal combination. I slept in.

I didn't panic really, took my time to get dressed, too nervous to actually eat anything, put my coat on and went to the train station. I vaguely knew where the place was, and it took quite some time to get there, so I decided to take the train. I took out my wallet to pay for the ticket, opened it and realization of my situation hit me like a bunch of rocks.

I didn't have enough money to buy a single fucking ticket. My wallet was positively empty; the only thing lacking was a white butterfly coming out of it.

I swear I almost teared up at the sight and the fact that my train was pulling up at the station, people swarming all around me. Frantically I looked around and realized that I had only twenty minutes left to get to 'Las Noches' or my job was going to fly out through the window. There was literally nothing else I could do, so I started running, praying that I would make it.

I was running late. My phone was buzzing inside my back pocket, but I didn't have the time to stop just to pick it up. Realizing that it was probably Orihime calling me, wondering where I was and probably even carrying bad news that I didn't make it, I clumsily got it out, without stopping and picked up, not bothering to glance at the caller ID.

Naturally it was Orihime's voice that reached my ears.

"Ichigo, where are you? It's already 11.06 am! I told you to be here earlier." Her voice had a slight disapproving note to it, but mostly I heard worry. I winced at the slight disappointment I heard in her soft voice.

"U-Uh, hey, Ori—_hah…_ hime, I had some, _uhh_, troubles, b-but I'll be there in a few minu—tes." I stuttered, trying my best to make the response as normal as possible as I cursed silently, trying my best to not trample on some five year olds. I was almost there, I could tell by the plain, old fashioned buildings on the other side of the street, hiding a huge park behind them. I thanked whatever deity there was that people stayed out of my fucking way for once. Well I couldn't exactly blame them; I probably looked like a psychopath that ran away from the mental asylum from the looks others gave me.

I was running for my brighter future, _damn it!_

"Are you sure everything is alright? What happened—"

"I'll tell you later."

"But, Ichigo—"

"Later, Inoue."

There was a long gap of silence and I was sure she had hung up on me, but then she spoke up. I breathed in (tried to) a sigh of relief that she wasn't pissed. I wouldn't have blamed her if she decided to leave me at the last moment. "Alright, please come here soon, and then we can talk all about it, just—hurry up."

She hung up and I sped off even faster, almost tripping in the process, but somehow I managed not to. A few seconds passed and I was already there.

And wow, was that building huge. I would have never thought that it was a model agency; it looked like a bank or a museum with its outer exterior. There on top of the staircase I saw Orihime pacing around nervously, staring at her wrist watch non stop. I tried to call out to her, but I didn't have the breath so I just kept on running and almost crashed into her, my vision swimming slightly from the lack of oxygen. She looked relieved if anything else and wordlessly pushed the glass door to her side, none to gently shoving me inside. The inside didn't look all that spacey, and the design of it reminded me of a fancy hotel instead of a modeling agency. Orihime quickly led me aside as I saw people staring at me, some of them in disgust, some of them in amazement and I couldn't care less. I was still struggling to breathe, Orihime kept on dragging me not giving a shit about the looks sent our way, until she reached what looked like the lounge, pushing past some girls that glared at her with angry 'hey!'s and Orihime apologized, not looking sorry at all, pushing me on a luxurious white sofa, covered by huge potted plants from either side as if to give some privacy and left me only to return with a glass full of water which I gladly accepted. I was regaining my breathing and I loosened my tie, coughing all the while.

"Wait here until I return." She just said, wringing her hands a little nervously. I only nodded and she left, her brown skirt swishing around her knees. I didn't have the time to take in my surroundings, examining the view outside the huge window on the left, when she had returned and told me to follow her. She had led me down a maze of corridors and I noticed many of people there glaring hatefully at us, Orihime not paying attention while my temper was slowly flaring up.

What the fuck was their problem? Why were they staring at us like that? Was that the model jealousy Orihime had mentioned last night? I glared back at them with the same intensity, and some of them had backed off. I couldn't help but feel pride swell inside my chest. If everyone was a little spineless bitch then it was going to be easy. I could handle these people quite well. When it came to bad temper, mine was by far the nastiest.

Or so I had thought.

"So… here we are." She suddenly stopped in front of a white door and I felt my stomach drop a little when I saw a golden plate with _'Sousuke Aizen'_ written on it. Orihime looked all kinds of nervous and I wasn't doing any better. "Um… good luck, Ichigo-kun." With one last look she quickly left and I was left staring, not sure if I should knock like any normal and polite person, or just barge in, in case the man was already expecting me. Going for the more civilized way I knocked and waited.

"Come in." a velvety voice resounded in my ears and I took one final breath in. He didn't sound all that bad…? Then again you wouldn't guess that Ishida was a complete asshole just from the sound of his voice and I had realized that the same could be applied to me. I was about to meet the man who hopefully was my future boss.

* * *

I was uncomfortable.

_Very much so._

The way this man stared at me with those mischievous brown eyes sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine. It was like he was staring right into my soul, calculating and… planning. Planning something I was obviously not going to enjoy. Then again I didn't get many details about the job, the description was very vague and … odd. I released a breath I did not know I was holding, when those brown eyes turned to stare at his laptop. He fixed the brown rimmed glasses slipping off the bridge of his nose, making them glint in the light and I was reminded of every megane antagonist in every shonen manga I have ever read. The atmosphere was so thick with tension it suffocated me.

"Name: Ichigo, last name: Kurosaki, age: twenty three, birthday: July 15th, graduated Karakura high school, now studying at Tokyo's medical university, height 5'11", weight 145 lbs, blood type A—"

I was staring at him, trying to keep my jaw in place from dropping to the fucking ground. Who the hell did this guy think he was? A creepy stalker? Where the hell did he get all of this information, even I didn't know some things about myself that he mentioned.

I could swear that I was taller than 5'11".

That didn't fucking matter, I might as well call the police on the creep for stalking me. Was knowing all of this information about me legal? I didn't fill in anything for this supposed job, and now I was starting to get very suspicious. Aizen just smiled at me as if he didn't just tell me my whole fucking profile, not one bit aware of my sudden self consciousness. He picked up his buzzing cellphone saying a few words in… Spanish? Italian? I didn't really know, it was certainly not Japanese and hung up, turning his creepy dead fish eyes to me.

"You're just like I had expected you to be, Ichigo Kurosaki. I can assure you that the information I have about you isn't some sort of let's say 'stalking'. Everything is legal and I like to know everything about my employees, future or not."

I was still very suspicious of this man, but him saying that it was legal reassured me. Somewhat. I opened my mouth, but he had swiftly cut me off.

"That's right, you don't really know what you're supposed to be doing here, is that correct?"

"…" all I could do was nod my head dumbly, trying my best to keep eye contact, palms sweating lightly.

"That's alright, your curiosity is quite understandable, but for now let's have some tea and we can talk all about it. Ask away anything that bothers you, I'll gladly answer all of your questions. Luppi, you can come in." Aizen called out and as if on queue, the door to his office opened and a petite figure with black hair styled in a fashionable way walked in, holding the door up in place with one hip, carrying two trays, one in each hand. I wasn't sure whether it was a guy or a girl, I couldn't tell all that well, the person was drowning in a white cashmere sweater, sleeves far too long, so I couldn't see any curves, even if that person's face screamed woman what not with those three tattoos on the forehead and feminine facial features. Then the person spoke only to prove that all of my suspicions were wrong and that what I thought was a girl was actually a guy. A really girly one, but a guy nonetheless. He would probably get along with Yumichika, just saying.

"Ah, Aizen-sama, Grimmjow is at it again." The guy—what was his name again? Lulu? Lucky…? Whimpered, all fakeness and pretend hurt, and stuck his lower lip out, all the while twirling the trays in an expert fashion, not letting one drop spill. "If this keeps up, everyone will go crazy I swear. He's a big boy now and he needs to learn how to play nice before someone snaps his neck in two. Me preferably." He set a cup of steaming hot tea and sent a cold look my way, but I was too sick to see it, trying my best to keep my face stony.

Why you'd ask?

It was the fucking tea. Not just any tea, but _lemon tea_. It made my eyes water and my stomach churn, I was positively sick from the taste and the scent of it made my nose scrunch up in utter disgust. You try drinking something so gross like that for months; I'll see how well you do with it.

Did they honestly expect me to drink it? Immediately my eyes started darting around, looking for a way to spill the god awful liquid as if it never existed to begin with, while my 'boss' and the L—something guy conversed, the girly man complaining and Aizen nodding his head apathetically, yet I could see that his mood was darkening.

"That's why we have Ichigo here."

At the mention of my name my head shot up and I blinked. "Excuse me what did you say? I wasn't listening." I confessed sheepishly. Aizen gave me a mirthless grin and his eyes flashed with that spark of mischief once again.

"No way." The girly black haired guy said, eyes widening. "This guy and _Grimmjow_? Kid will be dead after a couple of hours!"

Huh? What about me? And that Grimmjow person.

I couldn't help but feel like I had heard the name before, and not just once but a multiple times. I was horrible at remembering faces so I had immediately given up. Yet my curiosity got the better of me.

"Who's this Grimmjow you keep mentioning? Will he have something to do with my future job, that is if I will get any details about it any time soon?" I couldn't help but let that teasing remark slip. Aizen's grin widened and I immediately regretted it, while the black haired dude just stared at me as if I was a crazy person.

"Are you sure you're from Tokyo, kid? Everyone knows that prick. This is the first time I encounter someone who hasn't a slightest idea who that bastard is. Oh man, this is just gold, can't wait to tell him that not everyone knows how his ugly mug looks like—"

"Luppi, you shall refrain from angering him any further. Keep you comments to yourself." Aizen's wrath could choke me all the way across the table and Luppi, yeah it wasn't Lulu like I had thought, gulped, visibly scared and I felt bad for him. Sort of.

Not really.

"Alright, Aizen-s-sama… Anyways that Grimmjow. He's the worst of the worst. Thinks he's so cool just because the media loves him, considers himself a God that runs this place and stands on the top of the food chain here. Can't back off without picking fights, the little bastard. And he's not that hot, tch, I don't get what's the deal with him. Best of luck controlling that beast, little Strawberry, you sure as hell will need it. Oh and patience. Endless amounts of it. If you by any chance run out of it, punch him in the face and make sure to break that flawless nose of his."

My eyes were wide after Luppi's little rant. Stuck babysitting… Someone like that? The worst one here, with cockiness and ego as big as fucking Kyoto tower?

What in the hell had Rukia and Orihime signed me up for? I could barely stand babysitting my younger sister Karin and this kid sounded just as bad. How the hell was I supposed to keep a grown guy in check. He liked picking fights, yeah? It wasn't like I could yank his shirt back, pat his back and tell him to be a good boy. Well I could do just that but that would result in a broken bone or two that weren't going to be his from Luppi's description about him.

It made my blood boil… With some sort of excitement. Fear too, but my other side, the one that loved fighting was more than ready to pick up the job and show the little cocky boy just who was the boss, since I wasn't a pussy myself. I could stand my own ground just as well.

As if sensing my sudden rush of adrenaline Aizen smiled, this time it actually reaching his chocolate brown eyes.

"From your reaction, I'd say that you want to take the job. To summarize it, your job is to keep Grimmjow Jaegerjaques in check and by that I mean make him stay out of fights and make sure he doesn't run around in between photo shoots We have been looking for a person to do just that, his bodyguard can't keep up with him, and when Orihime Inoue told me about you and your… past activities, I was sure that you would be able to handle this. Your reaction has proved me right and I will happily give you this job. There are a few strict rules that you must follow though." Aizen's voice dropped a few octaves lower and he put his chin on top of his interlaced fingers. "You mustn't form any kind of romantic relationship—"

I tuned him out and stared at him in pure shock and horror as Luppi snickered into his overly long sleeve, obviously enjoying my discomfort. Did Aizen just imply that I might for some sort reason form a- an—affair with this dude? I swallowed thickly. Since he knew so much about me, maybe he knew about my preferences too? But that was just impossible since no one besides my family, Rukia and Renji knew, I mean I never even went so far as to dating a guy. "—the media is really aggressive these days, so it wouldn't benefit neither the agency nor Grimmjow himself, and I am sure you do not want unnecessary attention. I am just warning you, because we had a few cases like that in the past so you can never know for sure. Luppi, please leave me alone with Kurosaki-san, I have some things I want to discuss with him in private, you had already heard enough. And no rumor spreading once you leave, _am I clear_?"

Luppi saluted him cheerfully and bowed, leaving the office, humming something to himself while twirling the trays, kicking the door shut with his leg. The professional tension was back again and I turned to Aizen, who was eyeing me as if expecting something. I realized that he was waiting for me to follow his example and sip at my tea. A shudder of disgust traveled down my spine, but I had sucked it up, and took a miniature gulp, trying my best not to throw up at the taste, forcing the lukewarm liquid down my still parched throat. He just smirked, a smirk of satisfaction, and coughed.

"Now Ichigo-san, let's talk about the details and your payment—"

What had I gotten myself into…?

* * *

I left the office in high spirits and drained beyond belief. Who would have thought that staying in the same room as Aizen was so… soul sucking? Yeah that's it. Immediately Orihime was all over me, relief all over her face when she saw that I left the office in high spirits. I just laughed, all of my frustration slowly disappearing. I had a job! I finally made it! And not just any job, a job that payed real well. Now I could let myself go to clubs with Shinji and afford going to our little meetings with the rest, drinking 'till we couldn't stand straight. And most importantly I could finally waste money on food. Man, did I miss fresh food and not those shitty noodles I have munched on for these past few months. I could pay everyone back. I was so overjoyed I didn't even once think about the guy I was going to keep in check. If he was going to be a little prick he could go fuck himself, as long as we didn't get in trouble with Aizen and I had my money.

"Was your boss, oh excuse me '_Aizen-sama~_' " I faked a girly voice and Orihime laughed not even trying to cover it and I joined in. "-always been such a scary dude? I swear I almost felt like crying when he started looking at me. And then he started pulling this information about me outta thin air, it was so damn creepy—"

"Yes, I know, he likes doing that a lot. I don't really like it myself, it feels like I am in a horror movie and he's the creepy kind of stalker that kills people. But try to be nice, Ichigo and don't get into trouble with him, punishing people is his biggest talent."

"Don't worry…" I shuddered at the mere thought of having to face that wrath that was thankfully directed at Luppi instead of me. I never wanted to step one foot inside that office. "I don't plan on getting into trouble… That's unless that guy will do it for the both of us, and I will gladly kick his ass if he tries anything funny." I mumble, remembering that dude. His name was… Was… oh, yeah Grimmjow. Damn, I am so awesome; I actually remembered his name without meeting the guy first.

"So who did you get assigned to?" asked Orihime, bouncing lightly in her step as we made our way through the maze of the corridors and she looked over her shoulder, gray eyes shining with curiosity. I stopped, eyes wide staring at her as if she just talked in some other language instead of Japanese.

"Y-You mean there's more troublemakers other than that one!?"

"…Um well, yeah, if it was only one person Aizen would have dealt with him or her a long time ago. Everyone is so full of jealousy and anger here these days that some of them started causing fights, so Aizen's most trusted men came up with this plan. I must agree, we need more level headed people here, to cool the atmosphere. Ulqui-kun doesn't really need anyone because he is so calm, and well… He haves me here, so it is okay~" She smiled brightly and kept on going. "Come on, Ichigo, let's go, I'll show you around this place. Ignore the mean looks others might send you, they will leave you alone if you wont pay them any attention, it is one the most basic lessons in order to survive here and not to raise tension."

"Um, yeah." I only replied as I glared at some girl that was eyeing the cheerful orangette before me with a hateful snarl on her painted face. She turned her dark eyes to me and glared at me with the same intensity. Bitch…

Everyone was so cold hearted here, only a few faces seemed warm and welcome. Orihime went on ahead and kept on chattering, eyes closed and I noticed that someone was right in front of her, but she was blissfully oblivious.

"Now who did you get assigned again? You didn't tell me before, maybe we can find that person at the studio—"

"Orihime—"I began but it was too late, the collision had happened. Orihime yelped and fell back, landing on her butt. It looked rather painful, and she was hurt, I could see it in her expression, immediately I wanted to rush to her side and see if she was okay when the guy turned a little and looked at her as if she was some pitiful worm crawling at his legs.

"Watch where you're fucking going, you blind woman! It is not like it's the first time, open your god damned eyes or go see a doctor." The guy hollered and I froze in shock. How fucking rude. Did he just seriously say that?

The guy stood at atleast 6'1" feet tall, all long limbs and hard muscle, I could tell even behind his black shirt, handsome, flawless face marred with an expression of irritation and pure anger, blue eyes livid, sparkling in the dimmed corridor.

My body was frozen, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move a muscle. What caused this reaction was this guy's light blue hair, styled with utmost care. My heart was beating as if I had ran a marathon (again) and my palms were sweating. It felt as if… I knew the guy.

I knew him of so fucking well, I saw him before, I really did. But where?

I willed my body to move, but before I could actually do it, the guy's left hand had shot out towards Orihime, and my heart skipped a beat as I thought that he was going to hit her, but instead he picked her up by the back of her jacket, like a mother cat picking its kittens, and with one practiced movement pulled the orange haired girl on her feet. Her wide eyes were full of confusion much like mine, and the blue haired guy sighed deeply, brows still furrowed in annoyance.

"Wh—Wha?" Orihime and I started at the same time but he just closed his eyes and gave one more sigh before speaking up, voice smooth, a deep rich baritone and my heart skipped a beat again. Probably trying to figure out where it had seen the guy. Yeah that must be it.

"Make sure that won't ever happen again, girl, or you might break your neck like that one day."

"Y—yes, Grimmjow-san…" She bowed slightly, trying her best to hide her smile. "I'll be c-careful from now on."

"Yeah yeah, whatever, just stay out of my fucking way and stop throwing yourself on me, I might not be that kind the next time, ya hear me? It's your luck I am tired today. Now move, I have a photo shoot in ten mins. Cirucci is filling in for you today, can't see why you can't do it when you're here..." Those cerulean blue eyes moved from her and ever so slowly moved to me, scanning me. I felt as if I had stepped into a cold shower, not at all enjoying his animal like look. It made me feel weak and small, like a little mouse trying to hide from watchful eyes of a hawk. I eyed his perfect face suspiciously and my brain went back to the conversation Orihime and this model—holy shit, did she say HIS name was Grimmjow!

Suddenly my brain short circuited and my eyes went so wide they were surely to fall out if this kept up. T-this model, this guy eyeing me with a dangerous look in his eyes was Grimmjow! He was the one I was supposed to, for the lack of better word babysit! I looked into his blue eyes, quickly searching something, not finding what I wanted and my gaze shifted to his hair. A smirk appeared on his face and just like that everything came back to me like it was some sort of clichéd movie, except it was reality.

Grimmjow, of course I knew him, he was all over the covers of magazines, and I could swear I had seen him on television some time ago, but that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that _he was responsible for my condition_.

_HE_ WAS THE ONE INVOLVED IN THAT 'MAGAZINE INCIDENT' WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN.

Now let's rewind some, shall we? When the trip of exploring and fucking questioning my own, straight as an arrow sexuality began. I was a young boy of sixteen years old, possibly interested in by best friend Rukia or perhaps even Rangiku, I can't think about it without shuddering, all in all I was a perverted little teen and I was okay with it, for a boy of my age it was perfectly normal. But all of this changed one day. It involved my sister Yuzu, a magazine and me being myself, aka not minding my own business.

She was only thirteen years old, of course I would be worried, of course I would check her stuff, just to make sure she wasn't poisoned with thoughts of sexual shit at her delicate age of thirteen, unlike I was (courtesy to Keigo Asano, the biggest pervert on the face of Japan and perhaps even the whole world) Maybe it was my big brother instincts kicking in, but I wanted to keep Yuzu as innocent as possible, before she dragged Karin down with her too, even if my tomboy sister wasn't all that interested in what Yuzu had to show her, only making some comments, but not exploiting the subject any further. There was always some sort of magazine involved, and it wasn't just my sister, I have seen girls her age, and even girls from my school often carry one of those, I couldn't judge the contents by the cover because it seemed pretty normal, unlike the porno magazines Keigo had shoved my way (we even got caught once, I was never so humiliated in my entire life when my dad was clinging to me and sobbing in front of my deceased mother's poster about how proud he was and how I was finally growing up) I would just see Yuzu sit with Karin together on the couch and whisper to each other in absolute secret, Yuzu blushing slightly and Karin commenting.

I felt so fucking left out and I wanted to know what had them so excited. _Oh how I wish I would have left them be._

They were talking about someone, and only now do I realize they were actually talking about Grimmjow, and even Karin had agreed with Yuzu. I think that was when I snapped. The next day I had snatched Yuzu's magazine and brought it to my room. Of course by then I had completely forgotten the guy's name, but I was sure that if I flipped through that damned thing, I would certainly remember. It was only girly stuff, I had told myself, when I saw the pinkish hues of the pages, nothing to worry about. Now that I think about it is so hilarious, that I can't even laugh.

It was something like I had expected, of course it would be something like gravure books that Keigo dragged to my house on every meeting we had, but it most certainly wasn't anything bad. It appeared that recently articles of fresh meat in modeling agencies had become a popular subject, so the magazine decided to focus on that. I could clearly tell that it was more focused on the female readers. I admired some of the models, they were certainly beautiful as I flipped frantically, trying to find the one I needed.

_And boy did I find one._

He was only a beginner back then, that Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the guy flew all the way across the world from Germany, only recently turned eighteen and already was a huge hit at the agencies, breaking the records. And I could see why all too well.

Right there before me on the glossy page was a photo, the said model smirking at the camera seductively, eyes sparkling and leering. Half of the blue haired teen's body was submerged in crystal blue water, complimenting his mess of blue hair and those mischievous eyes perfectly. He was looking over his shoulder slightly, the tanned body glistening from the water that was pouring on him, hands stretched before him, gripping the ledge of the pool. His body, his look, everything made my heart beat inside the back of my throat and my god damned face felt as if it was on fire, my lower stomach rapidly warming. I just couldn't comprehend how someone could be this fucking beautiful, this sexy, this perfect.

I was slowly growing hard for a friggin' man.

I wanted to strangle myself at the realization.

This stupid human being made me, the straightest guy among our little crew of homo tendencies, into one of them. I was changed by one god damned model that I was never going to meet, a model that made my heart beat faster inside my chest and my insides turn mushy. That's what I had thought.

And then today happened.

Afterwards I had seen this guy everywhere, magazine covers, _certainly_ fucking TV and many other places. Girls loved him, adored him, swooned over him along with some of the guys' as well.

Me fucking _included._

I tried to push him out of my life, I really did, I tried my best to block out images of him, to not see him and after putting lots of effort I had succeeded.

And now. Now I had the _real thing_. I had him and _I had to keep his ass in check_.

I was beyond furious. Absolutely livid. Why must fate torture me so much?

My mind short circuited, buzzed with anger, Orihime was staring at me in utter confusion and all I could do was point my finger at Grimmjow's smirking ass accusingly and say one thing that came to my mind.

"**You!**"

"Hm? Me? What about me?" he mockingly looked to the sides as if to make sure I was talking to him, and his smirk widened. Oh how I fucking hated him, it was his fault, all of this was his fault. Not only had he ruined my life, now he was going to keep on ruining it with that smartass attitude of his and his fighter persona all of this while Aizen was breathing down the back of my neck.

All I did was blush ten shades of red and all that came out of my mouth was a weird wheezing sound, and that had amused him. He whistled and stuffed his hands inside his pockets.

"Oi, Inoue, your weird friend here has lost it. Better show him the way out, he might infect us." The grin widened and I was offended. Orihime started growing uncomfortable by the second and spilled even more alcohol inside the burning flame that was my temper and the situation at hand.

"Uh, Grimmjow-san, this is Ichigo Kurosaki and Aizen-sama… Aizen-sama had assigned him to become your assistant."

I saw Grimmjow's eyes widen in shock and disbelief, and his eyebrows slanted in a deep frown, nose wrinkling in distaste. He was fast to approach my frozen, unmoving self and he leaned close, _he actually fucking leaned in_, as I stared into those blue sparkling depths he had for his eyes.

"Huh? Aizen did? This little brat?_ You fucking serious?_ I bet he couldn't even throw a punch, let alone defend himself, with that scrawny stature and that_ short_ height."

Oh _hell no_, the fucker was threading on a thin ice here, and Orhime seemed to sense it, waving her arms wildly but it was far too late. Something inside me snapped, and my face exploded in red.

"Say that again, asshole, I fucking dare you." I had grit out through clenched teeth and Orihime stared laughing nervously. I am sorry, Orihime, but there was not other way, the punk needed to know his place.

"Ichigo, _please don't_, you promised—"

He leaned in even closer, and I was wondering how we weren't physically touching yet.

"I said that you look like a fucking pussy, if that's what ya asking. What's wrong, not only weak, but short on hearing too, Strawberry?"

Did he just fucking call me a _strawberry_? Oh no he fucking didn't, he better pray I had misheard.

"What's wrong, strawberry, cat caught your tongue? "

"Don't you fucking start with me, asshole, I can kick your ass right now."

The grin was back in an instant and I wanted nothing more than to make it disappear.

"Oh, little Strawberry is the aggressive type? What are you going to do about it, blush harder?" I sputtered and he had laughed at my reaction. I couldn't stop it. My face had decided to betray me in the most cruel way at the worst moment. It made him think like he had a hold of me, an advantage and I couldn't stand it. He was making me feel…_things_ and I didn't appreciate it one bit. I didn't like how his laugh sounded in my ears, I didn't like that he was far too fucking close to me and I certainly did not like the way he tilted my head up, after pushing his fingers underneath my neck, expression examining me.

"A feisty one this time, huh? Aizen sure knows what he's doing… It's nothing thought, I had worse and I tamed worse, _this_ is nothing." His voice was a velvet touch to my ears and I steeled myself trying not to blush, failing miserably. Just when I was about to move my head away from his grasp, a sharp cough resounded in the air. I turned to the side and Grimmjow did the same, my gaze was met by a pair of emerald eyes. The guy had black hair and a slim stature, a little pale and had two green tattoos beneath his eyes. What caught my attention was that he had his arm around Orihime's waist and I figured out that this man was Orihime's boyfriend U—Ul—_something_.

Grimmjow clicked his tongue and released me, expression hateful as he glared at the emotionless man before him, growling like a wild animal.

"Ulquiorra."

Yeah, that's what I meant, his name was Ulquiorra. I was getting better at remembering names.

"Grimmjow, this is no time or place to be acting like an uncivilized_ barbarian_ that you are, they are searching for you. Remember that you have a job or does that do not register in your little brain."

For an emotionless guy, he certainly knew how to throw insults every way. I wasn't sure if I would get along with him, but Grimmjow obviously didn't.

"Watch the way you speak, emo brat before I—"

The emerald eyes turned my way. "So you must be Ichigo Kurosaki. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, I have heard a lot of things about you. I hope that you'll enjoy your stay here, no matter how short and unpleasant it may be." He gave one more pointed look at Grimmjow's side.

I could respect him, but I certainly _did not_ like him.

"Yeah well…" I smirked at the challenge presented to me. "It may not be pleasant, but it won't be short." I took his extended hand and shook it, Orihime's eyes sparkling cheerfully at the small action. I heard Grimmjow growl again, but I tried my best to ignore him and his presence in general.

"I'm going now, while you play your welcome to 'Las Noches' part." Grimmjow groaned, massaging his throbbing temple. "Keep your woman in check, she keeps running into things, might fall onto a guy's dick one day if this keeps up."

Ulquiorra's expression visibly darkened. "Don't speak like you know how to threat a woman, when you're acting like a five year old at the candy shop, not sure what he actually wants. Now get going, the sight of you isn't pleasing."

I raised my eyebrows at Ulquiorra's insult, not really sure about the secret meaning, but Grimmjow sure as hell understood it. His eyes turned sharp, pupils dilated and I knew it was bad and this could lead into a serious fight. Doing my job I extended my arm in front of the bluenette, stopping him dead in his tracks before he pounced. He looked at me in surprise then turned on his heal, clicking his tongue in distaste. "Whatever. Meet me at the front door tomorrow at the same time, Strawberry, that is if you won't chicken out." And he was gone, turning the corner, shoulders slouching in a lazy posture. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. Orihime was the first one to break the awkward silence.

"I guess that's it for today, Ichigo. Want me to show you the way out?"

I had taken her words into consideration, but one more look at her and Ulquiorra and I had decided against it.

"No, it's alright, I can find the exit myself." I smiled slightly." If I am going to start working here, I need to get used to the building. I'll see you tomorrow Orihime, it was nice meeting you." I turned to Ulquiorra and he nodded wordlessly. "Bye for now."

I had said my goodbyes and made my way thought the corridors ignoring everyone around me, occasionally bumping into some people, thinking about Grimmjow and his last stare as it lingered on, the sensation making my stomach churn. I couldn't have these feelings from the past bothering me, I had a job to keep and certain rules to follow. Not to mention Grimmjow was a fucking asshole, and I was sure that we were going to hate each other.

Right?

Of course. Because I just couldn't deal with guys like that and I certainly wasn't about to lower myself for him.

I steeled myself, and stepped through the glass door,

This was going to be rough, but life is all about challenges.

* * *

TBC


End file.
